National foreword

This British Standard is the UK implementation of EN 14960‑1:2019. Together with BS EN 14960‑3 and BS EN 14960‑2, it supersedes BS EN 14960:2013, which will be withdrawn upon publication of the rest of the series.

The UK participation in its preparation was entrusted to Technical Committee SW/65/-/6, Inflatable Play Equipment.

A list of organizations represented on this committee can be obtained on request to its secretary.

This publication does not purport to include all the necessary provisions of a contract. Users are responsible for its correct application.

Compliance with a British Standard cannot confer immunity from legal obligations.

This British Standard was published under the authority of the Standards Policy and Strategy Committee on 31 May 2019.

This European Standard was approved by CEN on 15 April 2019.

CEN members are bound to comply with the CEN/CENELEC Internal Regulations which stipulate the conditions for giving this European Standard the status of a national standard without any alteration. Up-to-date lists and bibliographical references concerning such national standards may be obtained on application to the CEN-CENELEC Management Centre or to any CEN member.

This European Standard exists in three official versions (English, French, German). A version in any other language made by translation under the responsibility of a CEN member into its own language and notified to the CEN-CENELEC Management Centre has the same status as the official versions.

CEN members are the national standards bodies of Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Republic of North Macedonia, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey and United Kingdom.

European foreword

This document (EN 14960‑1:2019) has been prepared by Technical Committee CEN/TC 136 “Sports, playground and other recreational facilities and equipment”, the secretariat of which is held by DIN.

This European Standard shall be given the status of a national standard, either by publication of an identical text or by endorsement, at the latest by November 2019, and conflicting national standards shall be withdrawn at the latest by November 2019.

Attention is drawn to the possibility that some of the elements of this document may be the subject of patent rights. CEN shall not be held responsible for identifying any or all such patent rights.

This document supersedes – together with EN 14960‑2:—1 and EN 14960‑3:—¹ – EN 14960:2013.

In relation to EN 14960:2013, the following main changes have been made:

changes with regard to inflatables sited on hard standing;
minor editing to improve the content accuracy of the document;
splitting this standard into the following three parts:
1. EN 14960‑1, Inflatable play equipment — Part 1: Safety requirements and test methods;
2. EN 14960‑2, Inflatable play equipment — Part 2: Additional safety requirements for Inflatable Bouncing Pillows for permanent installation (in preparation);
3. EN 14960‑3, Inflatable play equipment — Part 3: Specific safety requirements and test methods for inflatable snappies (in preparation).

According to the CEN-CENELEC Internal Regulations, the national standards organisations of the following countries are bound to implement this European Standard: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey and the United Kingdom.

Introduction

Play is the means by which children discover and understand the world in which they live and is an essential element in a child’s physical and mental growth.

It is important for children’s rounded development that, through play, they arrive at an understanding of danger, which provides a basis for assessing safety in a variety of situations. The balance between challenge and safety is an important consideration.

The inflatable play equipment referred to in this standard can provide different levels of challenge and excitement. This European Standard aims to minimize the level of risk and the possibility of serious injury while allowing children to enjoy themselves when playing in or on inflatable equipment.

This standard acknowledges the difficulties of addressing safety issues by age criteria alone because the ability to handle risk is based on the individual user’s level of skill and not age. Moreover, users other than the intended age range will make use of the inflatable equipment, in which case, the provisions of this standard still apply.

It is not the purpose of the requirements of this standard to affect a child’s need to play nor to lessen the contribution that inflatable play equipment makes either to the child’s development or meaningful play from an educational point of view.

Where inflatable play equipment is combined with other items of children’s playground equipment, the relevant standards applying to the other items of equipment should also be consulted.

1 Scope

This document is applicable to inflatable play equipment intended for use by children fourteen years and under both individually and collectively.

This document specifies safety requirements for inflatable play equipment for which the primary activities are bouncing and sliding. It sets measures to address risks and also to minimize accidents to users for those involved in the design, manufacture and supply of inflatable play equipment. It specifies information to be supplied with the equipment. The requirements have been laid down bearing in mind the risk factor based on available data.

This document specifies the requirements that will protect a child from hazards that he or she may be unable to foresee when using the equipment as intended, or in a manner that can be reasonably anticipated.

This document is not applicable to inflatable water-borne play and leisure equipment, domestic inflatable toys, air-supported buildings, inflatables used solely for protection, inflatables used for rescue, or other types of inflatable toys where the primary activity is not bouncing or sliding.

2 Normative references

3 Terms and definitions

4 Safety requirements

4.1 Materials

4.2 Design

4.3 Number of users

4.4 Supervision

5 Test methods and reports

6 Information to be provided by the supplier/manufacturer

6.1 General product information

6.2 Pre-information

6.3 Installation information

6.4 Operating information

6.5 Inspection and maintenance information

7 Inspection, maintenance and alteration

7.1 Inspection

7.2 Maintenance

7.3 Alteration

8 Marking

9 Documentation

Bibliography

BS EN 14960-1:2019

Inflatable play equipment - Safety requirements and test methods

Current, Under Review

Published:

31 May 2019